We present a test for long-term couples who appreciate scary movies: Sit down with your partner and watch Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie has now made its online premiere on the Hulu service. On the surface, it may seem like standard body horror, but within Together exists a intense meditation about our choices in loving one another.
A Directorial Debut Investigating Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, the actors infuse a particular energy to their characters, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple relocate from the urban environment to the countryside for Millie’s job. A familiar plot device, of course, but that’s primarily where the cliches cease. Together evolves into as much a deep dive into the psyche of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
An Otherworldly Trigger
While trekking near their rural residence, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim fall into an hole in the earth. After being trapped overnight there and managing to escape, a strange force takes hold of the duo. This force compels a otherworldly bond between them that goes exceeding emotional intimacy.
The whole movie is a methodically building horror experience, weaving in bits of fever-dream horrors, gross (but tastefully done) body horror, and genuinely funny dialogue (sometimes during something horrific). The director weaves these elements together seamlessly and presents them in a consistently growing aura of dread.
Layered Performances
A great deal of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they deftly portray numerous complexities to the partnership at the film's core. Her self-assurance and feeling of intimacy is deteriorating due to a distance. Her unspoken irritation of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand senses confinement and separated by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve relocated rural and far away from his network of friends. He is terrified of the idea of totally forfeiting his individual identity in his partner. This fear is further exacerbated by the reality he does not operate a vehicle and relies on Millie for mobility.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting one partner or the other the clear bad guy.
Both characters confront the sort of issues that come with most partnerships a decade in. Fundamentally, they continue to care for one another. They still laugh together, offer support, and share intimately at times. But beneath it all, there’s an inescapable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Symbolism and Metaphor
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of unhealthy attachment and fully committing to a partner, the metaphor avoids being hamfisted or heavy-handed. Instead, these visceral horror elements present a brilliant analogue to the relationship narrative. Both the frights and the fights serve the other in harmony.
A Debated Finale
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the film’s ultimate message about enmeshed dynamics. Accounts suggest that those not in relationships have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. On the other hand, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own reaction could potentially serve as a great barometer of how you view relationships. Will the ending inspire a sense of discomfort and fear, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in Tim or Millie and scream at your TV, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “I understand that choice”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an test you can embark on today.
Together is currently playing on Hulu's platform at present.
